Palestinians condemn Israeli closures of institutions in Jerusalem
Israeli authorities are cracking down on Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians argue is aimed at obliterating the Palestinian character of the holy city amid calls to the international community to protect Palestinians and their institutions.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A state of anger and resentment prevailed over Palestinian streets that witnessed sit-ins and protests, stirred by the closure on Nov. 20 for six months of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem. Israeli Minister of Internal Security Gilad Ardan signed the order.
Among the affected institutions are an office for the Palestinian Directorate of Education and an office providing media services to Palestine TV — a subsidiary of the Palestinian General Authority for Radio and Television and the official TV of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The official closure order was attached to the doors of these institutions.
On Nov. 25, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education organized a sit-in at the ministry's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The participants rejected and denounced the Israeli authorities' six-month closure of its Jerusalem Education Directorate, which serves about 100,000 Jerusalem students.
Israeli authorities also arrested the head of the directorate, Samir Jebril. Participants stressed that the Israeli decision comes as part of a systematic campaign to control the education system in the city. They called on human rights, humanitarian and media organizations to shoulder their responsibilities to curb Israeli plans aimed at obliterating the Palestinian identity in Jerusalem.
